1 Objectives

The SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN project’s primary objective is to enhance collaboration between researchers in the EU and the ASEAN region on climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials issues, in line with the European Commission’s Societal Challenge 5 in Horizon2020.

The overarching objective of the partnership fund is to support bi-regional or bilateral R&D projects developing promising innovative technologies or ideas with market potential. This takes the form of a mobility grant for European researchers to travel to ASEAN-countries or vice-versa, and/or within the regions in order to collaborate on said technologies or ideas.

The objectives of the programme are to:

• Encourage collaborative initiatives or R&D projects in EU and ASEAN countries through, e.g. development of follow-up applied research, dissemination of research results at events, or facilitating the commercial application of R&D results and solutions.
• Facilitate the application and implementation of results of bi-regional or bilateral R&D projects in projects promoted by ASEAN or EU policy makers and public or private investors. E.g. increase the funding, scientific skills, technological capabilities and capacity building/development needed to move joint R&D project results towards implementation or application in ASEAN-EU.

Proposed initiatives which meet both of these objectives will be favoured. Proposals will be considered which involve new or upgraded concepts, technologies, management systems, new policies, capacity development tools for implementers or any other innovative instrument or solution which has potential for practical application, implementation or dissemination. Successful applicants will receive mobility funds and access to SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN’s specialist consultancy services.

2 Call Criteria

2.1 Target Projects

The target of this call are projects between (two or more) projects in Europe and the ASEAN region involving the creation of new bi-regional or bilateral environmental research. Priority will be given to projects funded by the European Commission, but projects originally set-up on a uni-, bi- or multi-lateral basis are also eligible, provided they involve cooperation between ASEAN and European partners. Applications from ASEAN projects region are particularly welcomed.

2.2 Eligibility

Projects eligible for support under this call for cooperation should satisfy the following conditions:

• The proposal must include 2 or more institutions, at least one from the ASEAN and one from the EU.
• The proposal must address climate change, resource efficiency or raw materials issues.
• The partners are mandated to cooperate with other organisations in a bi-regionally or bilaterally.
• The proposal must have a clear objective to foster cooperation between the EU and ASEAN.

2.3 Application Procedure

The call is open until October 31st 2014. Proposals should be submitted online, and will be evaluated together after the submission deadline. Please fill in the application form online: http://survey20.zsi.at/index.php/259448/lang-en.

Assistance is available at research-implementation-call@sustain-eu-asean.net.

2.4 Scope of Support

The selected proposal(s) will be eligible to economy-class flights and/or ground transport, accommodation and conference/exhibition fees up to a maximum of €10,000 per initiative, to be used within 12 months of the issuing of the letter of award issued by the SUSTAIN project consortium.

The organisers reserve the right to limit funding to levels they deem reasonable.

Only costs for which original receipts are received can be reimbursed, in line with EU funding guidelines.

2.5 Selection Criteria

All complete proposals received will be evaluated by thematic and regional experts, assigned by the SUSTAIN project consortium. Only proposals strictly fulfilling the eligibility criteria and having correctly completed the application form will be considered.

The selection will be made based on only the application documentation received, taking into account the alignment of the proposal with the call-objectives and the predicted chances of success and impact.

2.6 Obligations of the Recipient

Recipients of support must submit two reports to the SUSTAIN project consortium:

• An intermediate report detailing the progress of the cooperation, to be submitted 6 months after support is awarded.
• A final report at the end of the 12-month period.

Both the intermediate and the final report should describe (i) the meetings held (e.g. conferences, political fora, funding agency visits etc.) and their respective outcomes, and (ii) document a tangible output from the cooperation w.r.t. the call objectives.

In addition, the recipients will be required to participate in an online impact assessment of their initiative.

Finally, recipients will be expected to hold a brief presentation during the final SUSTAIN EU-ASEAN event in 2016, informing colleagues and stakeholders of the initiatives’ outcome, impact, lessons-learned and experience gained.

Successful applicants will be invited to participate in meetings with policy-makers, funding organisations and other potential sponsors or users of their results.